Portret van Pieter Christiansz. Bor 1634

Adriaen Matham made this portrait of Pieter Christiansz. Bor using engraving. Bor was a historian, and Matham’s portrait speaks to the important public role that historians played in 17th-century Dutch society. The image creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. The text around the oval refers to Bor's age, as well as to the fact that he was born in Utrecht. Holding a quill pen, Bor is shown in the act of writing, emphasizing the role of the historian as the recorder, and therefore the arbiter, of events. Bor was part of a tradition of humanist scholarship that emphasized empirical accuracy and the importance of archival research, and it was this scholarly approach that gave historians their authority. Historical documents, books, and institutional archives offer ways of understanding how art shapes and reflects social values. Approaching art in this way shows us that its meaning is always contingent on social and institutional context.